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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29453334">Avarice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citron0/pseuds/Citron0'>Citron0</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>LL multiverse [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, a sort of body swap, cat-like oni, eventually, experimenting with concepts, low-key saiyan tail mechanics, reading LL is not required but adds more context for things, references to LL, tail lloyd for a challenge, the ninja have roles in this one, wish shenanigans</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:07:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29453334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citron0/pseuds/Citron0</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lloyd wishes that no one in Ninjago City knows he is the spawn of the evil Lord Garmadon. Mistakes were made, probably should've phrased that better.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lord Garmadon/Koko (Ninjago), Lord Garmadon/Misako (Ninjago)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>LL multiverse [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067891</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Throwback Thursday.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I originally had a different plot in mind but my notes app crashed and I took it as a sign to take it in another direction</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lloyd spoiled from one "miracle," acts impulsively.<br/>I guess a lot more happens, but I'm trying not to spoil it</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Formerly called "Your Wish is Yours to Keep," but it's said so many times that I had to change it. I couldn't stand the "Goodnight everybody" joke that repeated in my head every time the title dropped.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lloyd Garmadon watched the falling stars from his bedroom window.</p><p>He clinched his fists, shutting his eyes, “I wish no citizen of Ninjago City knows who my father is.” If, for just once, the universe answers his plea, his world could get so much better.</p><p>Magic was in the air as his wish was granted.</p><p>Lloyd woke up, barely remembering he made a wish at all, it was a beautiful day. He didn’t know what he was feeling so down about yesterday. It was a lovely morning. He hummed a tune from a video game as he waltzed to the bus stop.</p><p>Everyone was friendly to him, <em>which didn’t match with his memories of them</em>, but they must’ve just been out of sorts until recently.</p><p>Lloyd smiled and laughed with everyone else, finally one of them.</p>
<hr/><p>His mother, Koko, was looking between photos of her ex-husband, her and her son.</p><p>‘He couldn’t be?’ Sure, they were together at the time of his birth, but Lloyd looked so human. And yet, Garmadon was the one who picked the name, she remembered that vividly when they were—and Lloyd looks far less human nowadays…</p><p>‘No?’</p><p>She rubbed her chin, then her eyes lit up as the fog lifted. She held the photo to her chest, it was so obvious, why did she think his father could be anyone else?</p>
<hr/><p>Wu felt a dark presence blanketed over a section of his mind. He furrowed his brows trying to determine what it was doing, but he couldn’t.</p>
<hr/><p>At school, Lloyd suffered no bullying from Chen or anyone else for that matter, which surprised him, he distinctly recalled being bullied because of his weird last name. When the time came for Garmadon to attack, Lloyd rushed into action with his friends to protect the city.</p><p>Lloyd, himself, didn’t notice any changes in his demeanor to Garmadon, but the warlord certainly did. Lloyd was aloof, holding no emotional connection to him.</p><p>Garmadon was somewhat offended by how the Green Ninja was more or less ignoring him like he was some old toy.</p><p>“Hey, Green Ninja!”</p><p>“What?” Lloyd said, sounding almost bored by the circumstances.</p><p>“What is this? What is this that you’re doing?”</p><p>Oblivious, he responds like teenager who just woke up, “What?”</p><p>“You’re <strong>ignoring</strong> me!”</p><p>“No, I’m not.” He pulls out his phone to check a text from his mom, it was a grocery list.</p><p>“You’re checking your <span class="u">e-mail</span> <strong>right now</strong>!”</p><p>“They’re called text messages, Garmadon.” He would’ve stuck out his tongue, but the mask nullified that.</p><p>“Eggs, pickles, bread,” he muttered the contents of the list to himself trying to memorize them.</p><p>“You’re ignoring <strong>me</strong> <em>again</em>! Don’t you care about my motives or want to tell me to leave Ninjago again?”</p><p>“Would you leave if I told you to?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Then, I’m not wasting my breath. Do you want me to blast you into oblivion?” Wasn’t he duty bound to destroy him, why had he been holding back before?</p><p>“Hm, I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner.” There was no reason in his mind not to kill him.</p><p>Garmadon’s eyes widened as the full payload flew at him, he activated his shield which managed to protect him and the limited contents of his mech cockpit seat, but the rest of it was totaled. He’d need to be hauled back by the jellyfish floaters.</p><p>“Think fast,” he threw a coal black spherical bomb with a long, white fuse at the Green Ninja as a last hoorah, which he failed at catching, miserably, he might add.</p><p>Garmadon wheeze-laughed, “Did you see that?” He asked his generals who were quick to laugh along with him- even those who weren’t engaged in the altercation.</p><p>Lloyd blushed as he dusted himself off. Holding the bomb gingerly while trying to find a good target to lob it at: Garmadon had his shield up so he wasn’t an option.</p><p>“Who thought you how to catch?”</p><p>“No one, Master Wu only prioritized <em>throwing</em>,” he said the last word with emphasis as he chunked the bomb at a random crab general/soldier(?)—he couldn’t denote any ranks from there.</p><p>“My idiot brother didn’t bother to teach you how to catch, that’s just like him.”</p><p>‘Psh, some trainer.’</p><p>Lloyd looked away, half twiddling his thumbs, “He said it was more of a father-son activity, and I don’t- have <strike>a da</strike> <em>anyone</em> to teach me those things, such as riding a bike or how to shave- or how to tie a tie.” Lloyd forced a shrug. His mom was too busy with work to spend more than just their dinners and breakfasts together. At least she had the weekend off, most of the time.</p><p>“You know what’s funny? I know how to do all those things,”</p><p>“You would at your age!” Lloyd joked trying to stop thinking about his lackluster father department.</p><p>Garmadon frowned at that jab and continued, “Yes, it’s just there in my mind, I’ve never taught them to anyone, just wasting away,”</p><p>“Yeah, whatever. I got homework to do, I-,”</p><p>“I forget sometimes how you ninja are literal children, but days like these really bring out that sleeper agent parent in me.”</p><p>“What are you talking about; you aren’t a parent.”</p><p>“Incorrect, I had a son once.” <strike>((*cough, cough* Technically not wrong. *cough*))</strike></p><p>Lloyd rolled his eyes which made the warlord focus on them briefly, “He had green eyes like you,” he squinted, his pupils lengthened into slits as he got a better look, “almost exactly like yours.”</p><p>‘Freaky,’ he composed himself quickly as he bobbed in his seat uncomfortably.</p><p>“Sure, whatever. I’ll bite, how old is he now?” He chuckled, “Like fifty?”</p><p>Garmadon’s face flashed with uncertainty, that was a weird look on the overconfident Lord Garmadon, “<span class="u">Seven</span>?”</p><p>‘What year was it again?’</p><p>“Uh-huh, sure. I’m <em>pretty sure</em> people would notice if you had a kid.”</p><p>“He’s at least ten,”</p><p>“Wow, parent of year,” he snickered to himself, “I bet you don’t even know his birthday.”</p><p>“Uh,” he recalled orange leaves falling outside the window of the military hospital, “Autumn?” Tragic. Technically, Lloyd was born in autumn too, smack-dab on the equinox.</p><p>Lloyd had to actively stop himself from chortling, “You mean the most often time of year for a baby to be born?”</p><p>“It’s not like I’ve seen him in, like, a decade, you expect me to remember?”</p><p>“Guess not, figures the ‘worst person ever’ would be an absentee father.”</p><p>Garmadon seemed to take some offense to that, blowing air out from his nostrils in a huff, grumbling something about his ex-wife being the one to leave him, in his retreat.</p>
<hr/><p>By the time Wu spotted Lloyd, he could tell instantly what had caused the disturbance. He knew Lloyd was his nephew, but he didn’t know how he was his nephew. Which was ridiculous there was only one way for Lloyd to be his nephew, but maybe he wasn’t his nephew by blood. Perhaps it was simply a term of endearment? That felt, incorrect.</p><p>“Lloyd, I have something to ask you,”</p><p>“What is it, Master Wu?”</p><p>“Am I your uncle?”</p><p>“Uh,” he felt like he should know the answer to this question, “I don’t think so? You aren’t related to my mom, are you?”</p><p>“No,” he felt the edges of the holes in the side of his flute staff, “I’m not sure why, but there’s a dark force over everyone in the city.”</p><p>Lloyd thought back to the shooting stars, “Huh, strange.” Wu pondered to himself, if Lloyd was related to his brother somehow, wouldn’t he look more Oni? He sniffed the air, he smelled a little like Garmadon had during their spars, but that wasn’t enough proof for anything. If smells were songs, Lloyd’s was missing half of Garmadon’s melody. Wu saw something blond dangling from under Lloyd’s shirt that was tied around his waist like a furry belt, tufted like a lion’s tail.</p>
<hr/><p>Meanwhile, in Garmadon’s evil volcanic lair,</p><p>“<strong>Nerds</strong>!” He paced around his Fire Place thinking back to <span class="u">what</span> the Green Ninja said, surely Ninjago City would notice if his spawn was living amongst them, there had to be records somewhere: school, medical, etc.</p><p>“Yes, sir?”</p><p>“I need you to fish up anything you can find on my son,”</p><p>The Green Ninja was right about one thing, if he didn’t know anything about ‘La-loyd’ how did that make him any different from someone who impregnated a woman and left her for dead? Did he have any right to call himself a father if he had no idea what his kid looked or sounded like?</p><p>He could try to call Koko to ask her, but his heart stammered just thinking about talking to her again. Especially if it’s regarding something he should definitely know already. He didn’t even know how old he was, that should be the easiest part to remember.</p><p>“Yes, sir!”</p><p>“I need a file on him, pronto. Also check the population for anyone with green eyes like La-loyd’s.”</p><p>“On it, sir!”</p><p>He sipped from his earl grey tea, clicking from hundreds of images of people with green eyes, but there was a difference between green eyes like Koko and green eyes like what the baby had. Crying those globs of lime green fire all the time, surely something like that would be mentioned in the boy’s medical records.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>“Garm!” Koko shook him awake from their shared bed. He didn’t sleep with any shirt on.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Huh, what?”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“It’s Lloyd, come on!” His protective instinct swelled as he willed himself awake. It had to be around 4 am judging by how dark it was.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>He followed quickly behind Koko to Lloyd’s crib, any number of things could be happening to Lloyd, he has plenty of enemies, “Is there anyone we have to beat up?”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“No, Lloyd’s crib caught fire, even if the fire can’t hurt him, the smoke is bad for him.”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Lloyd was wailing surrounded by neon green flames, “You weren’t kidding, we need to buy him one that isn’t made of wood next time.”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Garmadon, <strong>grab</strong> him.”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“What? Why me?”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“You have four arms and you’re fireproof, you tell me.”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“What’s La-loyd doing crying in the middle of the night for?” </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Babies just do that, he might be hungry again. Or he woke up in the dark alone and it scared him.”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Either way, I can’t feed him until he stops crying. Purr for him again, I can tell he likes that.”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>It was just one of those things woven into his fiber. “I didn’t even mean to the first time I did it. Of all the things I was expecting him to inherit from me, I wasn’t thinking of my tears,” </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>He plucked the infant out by his burnt nightgown, before readjusting his hands to hold him properly, “La-loyd, you’re okay now. See? You’re out of that smelly crib.” He wiped the boy’s tears with a hand that wasn’t holding him firmly. He patted his back thinking that would help him cough. Lloyd’s blond tail curled around one of his fingers.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“You’re okay, you’re okay, Son.” He turned to Koko, “Wow, listen to the pipes on him, pair that with the flaming tears of a warlord, he’s got potential!” Koko didn’t comment.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Okay, let’s turn on the stereo,” Lloyd began to relax as the rumbling hit some invisible threshold mark. He looked right at him with those big green eyes.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Hey there,” he told the curious baby, “That’s right, I’m your papa! If you’re hungry, Mama’s here too.” Lloyd placed a tiny, tiny hand on Garm’s chest and yawned.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Careful Garm, you’re lulling him to sleep.”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“That’s good, right? We can have him sleep with us tonight?”</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Depends on if we can trust ourselves not to smother him in our sleep.” </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>“Oh, I think we can manage that.”</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>He scrolled down Lloyd’s chart, distracted from his quest of finding another kid with eyes like his son’s; there were mentions of unusual tear ducts and atypical dental structures, ‘so teeth,’ and a tail that had been chopped off when he was two.</p><p>He did some minor arithmetic in his head, ‘He’s 14? Already?!’</p><p>Garmadon smacked his lips, it should’ve grown back by now if that was the last time. It wasn’t like Kokes to have his tail cut, did he get assaulted?</p><p>His chest puffed up, ready to throw down with someone, before he settled down once again, ‘Protectiveness? That’s a <em>dad</em> trait to have, but it’s useless without knowing where La-loyd is.’</p><p>But it wasn’t a total loss, he knew what to look for and, like, his son’s birthday. And there was one thing he could do, even if he couldn’t give it to them directly.</p>
<hr/><p>Lloyd yawned as he walked out of his room, that Saturday morning, revealing a mouthful of fangs. His tail hovered above the ground, bouncing lazily about as he maneuvered his way to the kitchen bar countertop with a cereal box in tow. He set it down and stretched like a cat.</p><p>Koko was in her room chatting to someone on the phone as Lloyd ate, he could only hear her tone from through his food and the door. She entered the living room looking like she had just gotten back from her night shift, “I got a raise,” she told him, “My boss said I deserved one for a while, he had just forgotten to give it to me.” She wasn’t lying, she had gotten a raise, but that wasn’t why she could afford to take time off.</p><p>“That’s great, well, not the ‘he forgot’ part, but the raise part.”</p><p>She ruffled his hair, “I know.”</p><p>“So are you going to have more time off?”</p><p>“Yes,”</p><p>“Alright! I’ve wanted to check out those museums for a while now. Cole went to the science museum with his mom and he told me they cracked a big ol’ geode and they got to keep it!” His tail coiled around his leg excitedly.</p><p>“When can we go?”</p><p>“After I’m done with some errands, we can go, just remember to-,”</p><p>“Hide my tail, I know.” Although, he couldn’t remember why—probably because it made him look like a mutant with his vestigial* tail.</p><p>“Okay, see you in a few hours, do your homework and we’ll go, sweetie.”</p><p>“Can do, bye, Mom!”</p>
<hr/><p>Going to the museum was so cool, he got to build a little contraption to protect an egg and a lamp. Let’s rewind little:</p><p>The massive windows bathed the Ninjago City Museum of Natural Science in sunlight, His mom bought him a 150 nen pear pie from WcRonald’s, grainy! She bought herself an iced tea and a squid ink burger. A butterfly landed on his arm in the bug exhibit. They took turns using a scale that calculated how much they’d weigh on Saturn, but it was the planetarium that sold him. The lighting affects added so much depth to the room, it left him feeling almost nauseous. Amazed, but nauseous.</p><p>The grundle description made no sense: how could there be ninja around millions of years ago? Was Ninjago even millions of years old, it might only be around a couple hundred thousand, his grandfather wasn’t that old, was he? Wait, who was his dad? He felt like he knew the answer to the question a few days ago. He narrowed his eyes, subconsciously morphing them into slits.</p><p>Koko stood in front of him to stop anyone else from seeing it, “What’s wrong? Is it too much?”</p><p>“No, no, I’m just trying to think.”</p><p>“Headache? I know it was pretty loud in there.”</p><p>“Yeah,” his head was pounding a little. It was on the tip of his tongue.</p><p>“Let’s go get you something to eat at WcRonald’s. Do you want a WcWaffle?”</p><p>“Sounds good to me,” he stumbled slightly as he held her arm for support, “Don’t forget the guac.”</p><p>“Of course. You just relax, okay?”</p><p>He nodded, holding his head up.</p><p>They went to the more explicitly science-y areas next, in the engineering sectors, there were poorly disguised/part-timing Nerds doing demonstrations with chemical reactions and simple circuits. The bottle glasses wearing G.I.T. person in the large dark brown afro recognized Lloyd in an instant. Lloyd did not, however, as Garmadon’s I.T. nerds were never seen doing evil outside the volcano. They felt compelled to give Lloyd the interactive roles when he wanted them.</p><p>“Mom, check it out! I made a lamp,” it came with a free lightbulb that he was totally not going to swap out with the one in his room the second he got back. The lamp was kind of strewn together with wood and a hot glue gun, but he was something he made that wasn’t a tool for war. It was nice.</p><p>Designing the harness for the egg was an experiment of thinking outside the box, he liked the challenge. The Nerds watched him carefully as he made a makeshift hang-glider out of cardboard and the plastic he cut from a plastic bag. He had tape fraying on his arms by the time he was done.</p><p>Koko was impressed, plucking off some pieces of tape, “I didn’t know my little man was such an engineer,”</p><p>Lloyd covered his face, “Mom!” His tail frizzled and quivered from in his covered pant loops.</p><p>“I’m not a little kid anymore!”</p><p>She kissed his head, “You’re growing up so fast, I’m glad you’ve found something that you like to do.”</p><p>‘That <em>isn’t</em> being a warlord.’</p><p>The sirens were going off from outside.</p><p>“Oh no,”</p><p>“Did you report?”</p><p>Asked one Nerd to another, “Yeah, why?”</p><p>“’Why?’ Ugh! You imbecile!”</p><p>“Garmadon? On a Saturday?” Lloyd exclaimed. How was he supposed to get to his mech from the center to the docks fast enough to help? He couldn’t very well leave his mom in the museum neither.</p><p>Koko grabbed his hand, pulling him into a dash with her to a place she deemed safer. Her first instinct was to follow the tornado drills she had done in her childhood before she was drafted, which was ‘find the center of the building, avoid windows, and duck &amp; cover.’</p>
<hr/><p>“Yuh-you’re not permitted to come in here.” Garmadon shoved the guard out the way with ease, “Whoa!”</p><p>“Where is he? I know he’s here, where’s my son?”</p><p>"Son?"</p><p>“You don’t have a son?”</p><p>“Yes. I. do. He’s here, I can smell him.”</p><p>“That’s gross, dude.”</p><p>“Would you be quiet! I’m trying to sense him. He’s, like-,” he rolled his wrist around in circles, “-underground?”</p>
<hr/><p>She held his hand tightly as they went down flights of stairs, “Mom, what’s happening? Is Garmadon attacking close to us?”</p><p>“It might have been a false alarm, let’s just get to the parking garage. So we can get back to the apartment, he never attacks there.”</p>
<hr/><p>‘Gah! He’s moving too fast!’</p><p>Sooner or later, 5 of the 6 ninja appeared to challenge him.</p><p>“Where’s the Green Ninja?”</p><p>The blue one stammered, “Uh, I’ll text him.”</p><p>“Hey,” he spoke in a velvety tone, “<em>Give</em> <span class="u">me</span> his number, I’ll text him. <em>For you.”</em></p><p>“I’m not an idiot, why would I give you that?”</p><p>“Because it would be funny? Ah, never mind, worth a shot.”</p><p>After ten minutes, the Lightning Ninja got a text back from the Green Ninja. Garmadon tapped his foot, “<em>So</em>?”</p><p>“’So,’ what?”</p><p>“What did he say?”</p><p>“He said he’s not available.”</p><p>“He can’t just <strong>take a raincheck </strong>when I strike, that’s just so<em> out of character</em>.” He put his chin on his hand.</p><p>“Whatever, this was a bust. I’m going home, forget this.”</p><p>“Did Garmadon seem distracted to you?”</p><p>“He didn’t even show up with an army this time.”</p><p>“Maybe he’s thinking about giving up?”</p><p>Or maybe he <em>wasn’t</em> since he, Lord Garmadon, stuck again that following Monday.</p><p>The Green Ninja was there that time, so Garmadon could at least get a good look at him. Well, after he exposed him to sneezing powder (pepper, nothing too serious for the tyke).</p><p>“Achoo! Guys, y’all mind if I just turn around for a second and shake whatever that powder was out of my mask, I can-can’t-,” he sneezed again, “-concentrate,” he wiped a fire tear droplet out of his eye.</p><p>Garmadon almost leapt out of his seat, he could recognize it anywhere.</p><p>“La-loyd, that is you!”</p><p>Lloyd looked to Zane, “What’s he talking about?”</p><p>“I had a feeling,” Lloyd wasn’t paying attention to the warlord as he waited for Zane’s verdict.</p><p>“According to the public records-,”</p><p>“Hey! <strong>I’m talking to you</strong>,” kid these days, no <span class="u">respect</span> for their elders, “<em>Son</em>!”</p><p>“Man, he’s lost it. Maybe if I talk to him he’ll get over this.” Whatever ‘this’ was.</p><p>Lloyd positioned his dragon to hide his face from view as he stepped out of the cockpit, he took off his mask and shook out the pepper.</p><p>“Uh, hi.” He jokingly held out a hand to shake, “I’m Lloyd Garmadon, no relation to Lord Garmadon.”</p><p>Garmadon steamed in frustration, “<em>I</em>- <em>You</em>- <strong>I’m your father</strong>!” He bellowed!</p><p>“What <em>are</em> you talking about?”</p><p>“I <em><span class="u">named</span></em> you! Didn’t your mother tell you <strong>anything</strong>?” Lloyd pulled his hand back to his side as he re-equipped his ninja shawl, he took a step back towards his green dragon mech.</p><p>“Um, I don’t think so…?”</p><p>“Don’t you think you’re <em>abnormal</em>?” He took another step back as the older stepped closer. Abnormal, in his mind, was a slightly nicer word than inhuman.</p><p>“Uh,” his tail coiled tighter around his waist from under his layers.</p><p>“You cry <span class="u">fire</span>! <em>C’mon</em>! You get that from <em><span class="u">me</span></em>!” Lloyd suddenly felt aware of something latched to his mind, locking his memories with a clasp. His hair stood on its ends, he could feel his tail bristle.</p><p>“You have a tail, I have a tail,” he waved his own as he slipped it out from under his armor. It had blond fur on the tuft like Lloyd’s.</p><p>‘Was he blond?’</p><p>“Surely, you don’t think you’re <em>human</em>, do you?” He said the word human was humor behind it. Lloyd backed into the leg of his mech, his eyes shifted as he felt more and more cornered. His vision ebbed into infrared briefly. The dude was like a furnace!</p><p>His secret identity was at stake if the public found out about that, “I- I don’t have a-,” Garmadon grabbed it with the ease of an expert pickpocket. Instinct dictated that Lloyd ought to fall limp from his tail being grabbed by an older Oni. He fought it as well as he could, which wasn’t by much, unfortunately. It gave Garmadon ample time to study the tail: there were a couple lines of pinkish-white scar tissue, but it was otherwise undamaged. Unlike his, it was gnarled with white scar tissue, all it takes is one lucky cut every few decades to stack up. Great for balance but an easy target.</p><p>The clasp shattered as his pupils rounded out back into circles.</p><p>He covered his eyes with a hand letting out a small groan, “I remember now. Aw man, I guess my wish did come true.” His mind was being bombarded with memories of Ninjagians treating him horribly, did he have to go back to that if other people remembered the truth?</p><p>“Wish?”</p><p>“Yes, ‘wish.’ I wished for everyone in Ninjago City to not know who my father is.” He shook his head, “I guess it affected me too. Those were a nice four days of ignorance. Can you, uh, let go now?” The Oni did, begrudgingly.</p><p>“Why would you wish for something like that?” If he had access to a wish for anything, why not just wish for Garmadon to be out of the picture? Oh? Could it be that Lloyd wants him as a dad, <em>a secret dad?</em></p><p>“Uh, how about because you ruin everything for me!” An icy, unprocessed fear clawed at his core.</p><p>‘Okay, guess not.’</p><p>“I couldn’t even go to museum with my mom without you ruining that for me too. I wasn’t even allowed in the museum before the wish: everyone thinks I’m just as bad as you are!” They <em>were </em>going to hate him all over again if things stayed as they are. Unless… Could he wish again?</p><p>‘Please, one more wish,’ a wish that’ll change everything.</p><p>Lloyd let out a high-pitched growl, <em>“I wish you weren’t my father!”</em></p><p>A cloud of blood orange smoke manifested around them, “Nadakhan,” Garmadon snarled in recognition of the Djinn. Lloyd had never seen that expression on him in all their days of feuding.</p><p>“Yes, it was <em>I </em>who granted the boy’s wish, and he just wished <em>you weren’t his father</em>!” He laughed maniacally. Garmadon bit his lip, he didn’t know what was about to happen, but it didn’t sound good.</p><p>He spun around effortlessly, since he had no legs at that moment, his jet black hair in its ponytail disobeyed gravity as it drifted with him like it was underwater.</p><p>“I can’t change too much with the timeline, but I know what I can do. You wish for <em>Lord Garmadon</em> not to be your father?” Lord Garmadon had always been a thorn in his side regarding his expansion of Djinjago, but now he’d be out of the way along with a goodie-two-shoes Green Ninja.</p><p>“Yes?” The air felt static-y like he was standing in the eye of a hurricane. He rubbed his hands together, the bottom set, since his upper left hand was replaced with a silver hook, generating magical energy.</p><p>He bowed, “Your wish is yours to keep,” The last thing he heard was the snap of the Djinn’s fingers, of a hand that wasn’t a hook.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've written way more than just this, I just don't know where to divide the chapters. I've written 11k already, just giving it <em>volume</em>... in case anyone's curious.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Migraine Monday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <pre>????????? ??????? ???????</pre>
<p>Lloyd has been sent to a radically different universe than his own, one that <span class="u">Lord Garmadon</span> isn't his father. Nadakhan loathes Garmadon, so he put Lloyd in a world he knew he'd hate.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've come to the conclusion that leaving it with just chapter 1 while I already had chapter 2 written would just not be good practice.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lloyd rubbed his eyes, he had been leaning too far forward into his computer screen. He was watching a live stream of a ninja fight, it seemed. Except there was no Green Ninja, <strike>just a Fuchsia Ninja who seemed to be teleporting</strike>. Lloyd couldn’t get a good look. Garmadon’s forces wore strange outfits, those like nen coins and umbrellas, the others were equipped with white and red yokai masks and one or more tails.</p><p>The computer looked way nicer than the one he owned back at the apartment. He saw a notepad by the keyboard filled with notes about <em>Lady Garmadon’s</em> battle tactics.</p><p>‘Lady?’ It was in his handwriting too, spooky. Where the heck was he?</p><p>He hit his hand against the underside of his desk, “Ow!” <em>While</em> <em>holding</em> <em>the</em> <em>notepad</em>?</p><p>‘What?’ He can clearly see both his hands right in front of him. He was wearing black opera gloves or something. He began to try to take them off when he recognized the very fleshy feeling of touching his bare skin.</p><p>“<em>What</em>?”</p><p>He pulled on his wrist attempting to see the fabric, “<strong>What</strong>?!” He touched his face, pulling on his cheek to see that it was indeed stygian. It didn’t feel like paint or anything like that. He placed a hand under his bangs- which were a vibrant orange like his mother’s with fading blond tips instead of blond outright, like he had bleached his hair instead of it being naturally that color. Then another hand on his left cheek, then his right, then his chin—</p><p>Did he scream and fall out of his freakishly comfortable ergonomic chair? Yes. It did give him an opportunity to see that his tail looked a lot like Garmadon’s, only instead of blond, the tuft was ginger. There was no scar tissue marring the surface near the tail bone. It had been there longer than he could remember, it was just gone. Where was he?</p><p>He glanced around at the room he was in, it held his things, and even some of the toys he distinctly remembered <em>not</em> being bought for him. He grabbed the cell phone in the green case on the desk, it displayed the time in hours but that was it. He tried putting in his password, but it wasn’t the same password used on this one.</p><p>“Oh, just great, I can’t unlock my own phone.” He mumbled to himself, slowly getting more and more ready to cry.</p><p>“Are you okay in there? I heard a scream.” That sounded like Garmadon.</p><p>He swung open the door and crashed into the maybe-Garmadon’s chest. He had the coordination of a newborn baby foal.</p><p>“Are you sick? Hurt?” The raven-haired stranger placed a hand on his forehead, “You look okay.”</p><p>“<em>’Look okay</em>?!’ I’m <strong>not</strong> okay!”</p><p>He spread out his arms in emphasis, practically screaming at him in panic, “I have <strong><span class="u">four</span></strong> arms!”</p><p>His hands began to knead around the top of his head, “<em>What</em> happened to me?!”</p><p>He only blinked at him, “You’ve always looked like that- La-loyd, do you need to see a doctor?”</p><p>‘That’s what <em>Garmadon</em> called me,’</p><p>“I- I’m sorry, <em>who</em> are you?”</p><p>“<em>What</em>? Don’t recognize your old man?” He had a simple semi-sphere haircut and black hair, he had the beginnings of crow’s feet on the edges of his eyes and slightly defined creases around his mouth. If it weren’t for those eyebrows, he might not have believed what he was seeing, “Garmadon?!”</p><p>“Huh, you <em>don’t</em> recognize me. That <em>is</em> concerning. This <em>isn’t</em> a game we’re playing?”</p><p>Lloyd squinted, his eyes soon drifting to the tiled floors, “You’re <em>not</em> Lord Garmadon?”</p><p>“<em>Heavens no</em>, not even during the war did I go by such a name, they called me Lord Iron Dragon, a bit of a mouthful, if you ask me; but your mother loved it.”</p><p>“Lord Iron Dragon?”</p><p>“I used to wield swords and an anchor mace, your mother took a shining to me when I deflected an arrow of hers on instinct alone.”</p><p>He placed a hand on his forehead, “I have to be in an alternate timeline or something. There’s no way my mom was that cool.”</p><p>“I believe you, I know my son, and he’s a bit of a brat,” he ruffled his hair, “Your mother spoils you rotten.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“And he’d never call me cool to my face!” He laughed just like Garmadon did. A classic, “Wah-ha-ha-ha!”</p><p>“So,” he paused for a moment, “<em>Who</em> are you?”</p><p>“I’m Kabutomushi Montgomery, but you can call me Dad.”</p><p>‘I won’t. I don’t even call my dad Dad, well, not to his face.’ He was starting to feel a little guilty for making his second wish, it certainly turned him into a monster or close to it.</p><p>“Wait, so Mom is Lady Garmadon?!” He nodded.</p><p>‘Oh no, what have I done?!’</p><p>“Are we <em>in</em> the <em>Volcano</em>?”</p><p>“Yes.” Lloyd looked both ways, he had never been in Garmadon’s volcano before, the place should look alien, but the longer he was in the new timeline the more memories he got from this so-called ‘bratty Lloyd’ that not-Garmadon mentioned.</p><p>“<em>Why</em>?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“If you’re my mom and my mom is you, then why aren’t we living in Ninjago City?”</p><p>Mr. Montgomery looked away, scratching the back of his head with a distant look in his mauve eyes, “It’s true our relationship didn’t work out, but with you being, well, yourself, it wasn’t a good idea for you to live without her. I thought about taking you and running, but your mother and I talked about it, and we decided it would be more beneficial for you to have both parents in your life.”</p><p>“So, my mom left my dad, not the other way around?” All this time, he thought Garmadon had just impregnated her and left or something, but they <em>did</em> get married and they <em>did</em> plan to spend their lives together. Even if it didn’t work out in this timeline or his.</p><p>“I can’t speak for <em>Lady</em> Iron Dragon, but if you passed as human, I might’ve considered doing something like that. She, at least, is giving you options to be something other than a warlord. My son, the one you slipped into, he’s going through an idolization phase where he wants to be just like her. She thinks it’s adorable; but we both know that you just don’t know what else you can be, being as you are.”</p><p>“If you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t it work out?”</p><p>He straightened his tie, “We had different goals, world domination just isn’t something I want.”</p><p>‘Okay, yeah, this guy <em>isn’t </em>Garmadon.’</p><p>“I was so <em>tired</em> of war, I just wanted to settle down and have a family with her- show her that there’s more to life than <em>conquering</em>. But who am I to tell her to stop? She’s been working at this for almost 80 years. It’s unreal.”</p><p>“Wow, <em>80</em>, huh?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“No wonder my dad never quits.”</p><p>“That’s the way of the ninja.”</p><p>“Oh yeah?”</p><p>“She used to be a ninja back in the days of the Great Serpentine War, of course, I wasn’t there for that, but it must’ve been a sight to see. I assume the same is true about your father.”</p><p>“This is nuts, wait!”</p><p>His eyes searched for anything resembling the Sun, “Uh,” unsuccessful, he continued, “Wh-what day is it? Is it still Monday?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“I have school, right?” His eyes drift downward, observing the white sleeveless tank top he spawned in dubiously. Noticing it for the first time, was he going to wear this to school? He was wearing white pajama pants or sweatpants that had green fire illustrations growing upward from the cuffs. No shoes or socks, he had clawed toenails, although he couldn’t tell if they grew in like that or if they were cut to that style.</p><p>“You’re homeschooled here by the best tutors Kokes could muster up.”</p><p>“You mean, this Lloyd doesn’t have friends?”</p><p>“Not really.”</p><p>He stuck out his tongue at no one in particular and slumped against the wall, “This Lloyd sucks,”</p><p>Kabuto couldn’t help but think how much that sounded like something his kid would say, “I can’t stay here. I- I gotta,” he trailed off after hitting himself in the face from selecting the incorrect arm.</p><p>“Maybe you should relax, your lessons don’t start until noon.”</p><p>He protested in perhaps the quietest voice imaginable, “<em>But- I don’t- </em>I can’t-,” his voice rose up to a slightly above average range, “My uncle! He’ll-he’ll know what to do!”</p><p>Not-Garmadon half rolled his eyes, “My <em>brother-in-law</em>?” He asked with distain.</p><p>‘Huh? Perhaps some things <em>are</em> universal?’</p><p>“Uh, I gotta go, gd’bye Mr. Montgomery!” Lloyd pressed his hands on the wall for support as he rushed to the elevator at the end of the hallway.</p><p>All Kabutomushi could think was, “That is <em>not</em> my kid.”</p>
<hr/><p>Lloyd hoped that nothing else changed about this timeline than just him having his parents swapped and him looking like a carbon copy of Garmadon, was his first wish still in effect? It wouldn’t change anything here if this version of his dad was <em>fairly</em> normal, there was no hiding who this Lloyd’s mother was. He scrambled on all sixes as he tried to balance his gait out, while <em>he </em>knew where Wu should be, he had no accessory memories of Ninjago City, like he had never been there.</p><p>“That’s sad, other-Lloyd,” he mumbled to himself as he wringed his tail to get most of the saltwater out, he stole a boat to get there but he fell out at the last second getting soaked. He was a long slab of meat. Where was his center of gravity?</p><p>He saw the Destiny’s Bounty docked by the warehouse, that was good.</p><p>He practically threw himself at it when he pounced, “Uncle, <em>Uncle</em>, <strong>Uncle</strong>!” He doubted he had any other relationship with him.</p><p>Wu dodged the pounce and the smaller leaps that followed, “<em>Nephew</em>?” Lloyd slowed down once it clicked that other-Lloyd hadn’t… met him before. Wu could tell he was his nephew regardless, thanks to the obvious Garmadon-y features.</p><p>He tried not to let it drag him down. The ninja didn’t recognize him neither, well, beyond being the son of Garmadon, “I need your help.”</p><p>“Uncle Wu, I messed up, I-,” his tears were watery, he wasn’t expecting that.</p><p>Wu could tell Lloyd wasn’t a threat, even if it was apparent that he didn’t know his name, “Nephew, tell me what transpired.”</p><p>“I just wanted to be treated like everyone else; but now I <span class="u">look</span> like <em>this</em>, all because of some Djinn guy. I need to find him, so I can undo my first two wishes and get back to my timeline.” It was the only solution he could think of, he knew by this point that wishing for anything else could and would be used against him. However, perhaps that was a bit too much for two sentences, judging by Wu’s and the ninja’s faces.</p><p>“What,” was all Kai said.</p><p>“Uh, Master Wu I didn’t know you had a nephew.”</p><p>“Me neither.”</p><p>“What, seriously!? My- uh- <em>Lady Garmadon</em> didn’t tell you? I thought you knew Mr. Monty.</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“Her ex-husband. Kabuto-something.” Wu only knew one with a name so ridiculous, the fog cloaking his mind dispersed.</p><p>“Oh, <em>him</em>.”</p><p>‘So the first wish <em>was</em> still affecting people, what a waste!’</p><p>Nya exacerbated something when she inquired, “Why are you calling your dad, Mr. Monty?”</p><p>“He’s <em>not</em> my dad! My dad is always trying to conquer the city and only remembered I existed recently.”</p><p>His reddish orange hair fell over his eyes, his tone darkened, “It’s funny, he only remembered at all because I made myself forget. Look, I’m from another world, where I was the Green Ninja,” Wu’s golden eyes darted away at that title, “I didn’t look like this, I was never going to be completely human, but I could actually hide what made me different when I was the Green Ninja. It was nice, liberating, to help and get appreciation, even if everyone would turn around and spit in my face when I was back to being Lloyd Garmadon.”</p><p>“But this place? This universe <em>sucks</em>, apparently this me has never stepped foot in the city before. Can you believe it?” He, other-Lloyd, never had his mom smuggle him into an ice rink or a bowling alley. He spent his whole life cooped up in that volcano; and now that he was him, he’d likely get the same fate if he didn’t fix his mistakes. He just needed to find that genie. He could be anywhere.</p><p>“I grew up in an apartment right in the heart,” he thought for a moment, “<em>lung</em> of the city. If-if-if I hadn’t I wouldn’t know all your names, or where this hideout was.”</p><p>“Nephew,”</p><p>“Cole, Kai, Nya, Jay, Zane.” All the ninja were surprised to have their identities known by some Garmadon look-alike.</p><p>“<em>Nephew</em>, how did you expect me to help you with this Djinn?”</p><p>“I, I don’t know, maybe he’s still in his lamp… here? Nadakhan was freed because my dad broke it. He breaks a lot of things; normally on purpose, but I’m pretty sure this one was by accident.”</p><p>“I see.”</p><p>“Hold up, did you run off without telling her?” She would find out if her son, who was always in the volcano, wasn’t there rather quickly, right?</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>“<strong>Where is he, Mushi?</strong>”</p>
  <p>“Him? Our son?”</p>
  <p>“<strong>Yes</strong>! The cameras showed that you were the last person he talked to.”</p>
  <p>“Ah, well,” he couldn’t lie to her, “I think he went to see my brother-in-law.”</p>
  <p>She let go of his shirt, setting him back down on the ground, slapping his cheek using the back of one of her hands with no force in it, “Thank you, <em>Honey</em>.” They were not married anymore, but being in such close quarters with each other sure gave the illusion of it on occasion.</p>
  <p>All he could do was chuckle defeatedly as she walked away, he loved a woman who could kick his ass.</p>
  <p>He held the cheek she touched, ‘Time and place, time and place.’ He reminded himself.</p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>“Well, yeah, I haven’t met her <em>yet</em>.”</p><p>The anxiety was starting to sink into his bones, his many, many newfound bones, “She was in the middle of attacking the city when I arrived; makes sense, I was fighting my dad,” it felt weird to say Garmadon in this context, especially since the people he was talking to would have a different Garmadon in mind, “when I made that wish.”</p><p>His hands linked together before breaking apart, “I was just mad,” his tone defensive, bordering blubbering, “<em>I’m only 14,</em> I-I shouldn’t be allowed to consent to wishes of this magnitude!” His dull emerald green eyes glossed over, his breaths hitching.</p><p>Salty tears of grief fell to the wooden floorboards, “I <span class="u">never</span> would’ve said it, <strong>if I knew I would lose you!</strong>” His friends, his family- <em>everyone</em> <em>but his parents-</em> had no idea who he was and by the looks of it, weren’t interested in knowing. Nadakhan had taken and twisted everyone he cared about, disfiguring him beyond recognition. He found a rage building in his throat for that alien of a man. The fine wispy hairs of his tail flared out, he wasn't going to stand for this.</p><p>Wu awkwardly patted Lloyd’s back, it didn’t do much to calm him down. Lloyd hugged him, Wu hugged back once recovering from the shock.</p><p>As they pulled away, Wu offered, “How about I make you some tea?” Wu wasn’t sure what else to do, but Lloyd was grateful for the effort.</p><p>“Sure, thank you, Uncle.”</p><p>'I'm sorry, for everything.' He stared up at the sky, he believed in himself, he could do it! For them, he was going to put everything back as it was!</p><p>Something metallic hovered near them several dozen feet above them, ‘Wait,’ if it looked like a helicopter and sounded like a helicopter, ‘What was that?’ It was likely a helicopter.</p><p>Inside the captain's quarters of the ship with his cup of tea, he couldn't sit easy, "I think I saw something out there, in the sky."</p><p>"Stay here, Nephew. I will handle it." Lloyd peered out the window in anticipation.</p>
<hr/><p>From above an Oni clad in teals and violets drifts down from the sky with a white and red paper parasol. Her clothes spread out like fans, her crème teal baggy slacks did so the most slowing her descent. Her sandals clacked as she brought them closer together, closing the parasol and aiming her fall at Wu. He knocked her away from himself with his flute-staff.</p><p>“Prepare yourself,” she added darkly after a moment, “Brother.” Lloyd was surprised how much she still sounded like his mother.</p><p>Wu and his ninja entered defensive positions.</p><p>While wearing the samurai helmet, it was far more comfortable to have her hair tied in a low braid that whipped around like a serpent in the wind behind her. Her tail concealed by the green ribbon tied around her waist. Silvery brass, spiked armor guarded her shoulders, and a large chest plate protected her vitals from under her robes that crossed to make an X shape before converging at the ribbon. Wielding the umbrella like a sword, she rushed in to close the gap. With the paper gone, it revealed that the parasol had been a rapier all along.</p><p>“I never saw you as the type to take the initiative.” She said through tense breaths, “What do you want from me for his safe return? If you want me to stop trying to conquer Ninjago City, then I’ll beat the answers out of you. He deserves the best, and<strong> I</strong> <strong>will give it to him!</strong>” The air rippled around them as she attempted to cleave into his weapon.</p><p>“You are mistaken,” he said slowly, “Misako-,” If there was <span class="u">something</span> she <strong><em>loathed</em></strong><em>…</em></p><p>“<strong>Don’t call me that</strong>, <em>please</em>,” she said sweetly with a fanged grin, “Call me <span class="u">Koko</span>. Or better yet: <strong>Lady Garmadon! Ah-ha-ha-ha</strong>!” Wu knocked away her black rapier by using a low, brisk thrust of his staff.</p><p>“Ah,” she acknowledged as it tumbled into the ocean. You’d think with four arms she would’ve had a better grip.</p><p>She conjured a crossbow and arrows out of nothing but a smoky violet light it had a jewel-like texture to it smooth but in a way that fractured the light that touched it.</p><p>“Give me back my baby!” Nothing was more ferocious than a mother. Each arrow pinned a part of Wu’s white robes to the wooden wall.</p><p>“Perhaps it’s time to give that beard of yours a trim,” she readied another arrow for his face. His heart pounded in his ears, Lloyd had to intervene, even if she wasn’t his mom; regardless of how much it said so on the tin.</p><p>“<strong>Wait!</strong>” He pushed open the door his cup of tea forgotten on the table in the cabin, “I’m here!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ha, action sequences always get my blood pumping.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Monday part 2: 'Khanned</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Can't just leave ya hanging. Half reunions and the beginnings of a game plan.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“<strong>Wait!</strong>” Lloyd nearly lost his balance as he tumbled out into the open, “I’m here!”</em>
</p><p>The arrows vanished as her concentration plummeted, “Lloyd?” Her ears swiveled to face the source of his voice, as she wasn’t in a position to turn around.</p><p>Wu rolled away from where he was pinned, and, taking advantage of her drop in focus, a quick swipe at her ankles sent her toppling into the water, “<em>Whoa</em>!”</p><p>Something dark flew out of the sea in a flash of violet light like a rocket before landing between Lloyd and Wu. Water dripped around her feet but with a quick motion of her hands, she was dry.</p><p>“Wu,” She stomped forward, ready to rip off his dirty, hermit beard, “What are you doing with my son?!”</p><p>He held up his hands in surrender, “Nothing, he found me.” He stated so matter-of-factly that Koko believed it.</p><p>She performed a two-step backflip that shot her ten feet into the air, making her land behind Lloyd. She reached under both sets of his arms with his hers and hoisted him a good meter into the air. She was Tall with a capital T: around twice Lloyd’s height.</p><p>“I’ve been looking all over for you! Why did you run away?” Should he call her ‘Mom?’ Was there anything else to call her?</p><p>“I didn’t- well- not <em>permanently</em>, I guess? Uh,” he was distracted by the combing sensation that was going on to the top of his head. It felt nice, he looked up to see her licking it like any feline. His hair was still salty from his dip.</p><p>‘Don’t listen to the Oni, Lloyd,’ he told himself, ‘It should be gross, not calming.’ It reminded him of how his mom would lick her fingers as if about to turn a page of a book and adjust his hair for school events.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>“Mom,” Lloyd and Koko were in the back of the car outside the doors of his elementary school. </em>
  </p>
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    <em>His voice held a pleading tone, “Do I have to go? I’m playing the bad guy again.” Every time they did casting, they’d chose him to play minor roles or the bad guy. It was no different today, he was to play the Rat King in The Nutcracker. Just once, he’d like to be the hero; besides, he looked ridiculous with the rat heads on his shoulders like some kind of rat-Cerberus. He had whiskers drawn on his face with Koko’s eyeliner.</em>
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    <em>She wetted her fingers and pulled his bangs behind his ears, patting down any cowlicks, “You’re playing a big role, Son. You gotta look good as a king.”</em>
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    <em>“I just know they gave me this on purpose,” he grumbled as she shaded the top of his nose black.</em>
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    <em>“Aw, just think of it like a ‘what-could-of-been,’”</em>
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    <em>“A what?”</em>
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    <em>She changed the subject hurriedly, “Just remember to have fun, Lloyd. I’ll be recording the whole thing!” Lloyd tensed up.</em>
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    <em>“Oh, no pressure,” she laughed it off, “Knock ‘em dead, sweetie!”</em>
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</blockquote><p>His arms in hers, they were almost the same shade of inkblot black.</p><p>He sighed, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t care about what’s normal while I’m here,’ it wasn’t his world anyway. At least, not if he could help it.</p><p>He glanced at Wu with a lost expression, he tried to wriggle out of the way but that just made him more of a tangled mass of limbs.</p><p>“I was so worried, but you’re safe now, my beautiful baby boy!”</p><p>Lloyd suddenly painfully aware of his parallel friends nearby, he flushed a deep purple, “Mom!” Other-Lloyd’s memories of her were abundant, unlike him and his mom, those two had spent a lot of time together. Even if she wasn’t his mom <em>exactly</em>, she was still a mom to someone- just not him.</p><p>He whined covering his face in three of his hands, “Don’t say stuff like that in front of my friends!”</p><p>“Friends?” She asked with genuine pride and curiosity, “You made friends?” Her excitement dipped, her tone flattening, “Are you referring to the <em>ninja</em>?”</p><p>“Well, yes and no. These guys, um, I know them, but they don’t know me.”</p><p>“<em>Lloyd</em>,” she said in a pre-scolding parent voice, “Were you stalking them?”</p><p>“<em>No</em>, no, I just-,” he shook his head, if Lord Garmadon knows, then Lady Garmadon should know too, it could be good practice for telling his mom, <strike>and it didn’t <em>really</em> matter what he did while in the parallel universe</strike>, “I’m the Green Ninja,”</p><p>“There is no such thing.”</p><p>“I know there isn’t one here, but I am the Green Ninja of <em>my</em> world.” She huffed out her nostrils, Kabuto had mentioned something about her baby being <em>displaced</em> since she made him fly the copter there. He waved at her feebly when he caught her staring.</p><p>Wu clarified, “He ventured here by mistake via a wish from a Djinn.”</p><p>“If you’re a different version of my son-,” she set him back on the ground awkwardly to get a better look at him, “-then where is he?”</p><p>He placed a hand on his chest, “He’s right here. I’m in his body. I am slowly gaining his memories. I need to make another wish in order to go back where I came from. I thought my uncle could help. His uncle?”</p><p>“He’s never clashed with Djinns, as for me, well, I’ve <em>read stories</em> about the Oni conquering that realm.”</p><p>“How?” Almost everything on Onis is hearsay as much as he could tell.</p><p>She answered a little too quickly, “<em>I have an informant</em>.” Wu looked away knowingly.</p><p>“You think he granted my wishes because he wanted me to suffer?”</p><p>“Perhaps, it <em>could</em> be a grudge. He might have his own agenda mixed in too,”</p><p>“He <em>really</em> didn’t like my dad.”</p><p>“Kabuto?”</p><p>“<em>Lord</em> <em>Garmadon</em>.”</p><p>“Right, that,” her fingers scrunched upwards in revulsion, “<em>guy</em>,” said half believing him and half not.</p><p>“My wish took ‘im right out of existence, but I guess the void had to be filled somehow and that’s why you guys swapped places.”</p><p>“I see, what did you wish for?”</p><p>“I dunno if I should tell you, it was in the heat of the moment.”</p><p>“It’s fine, I promise I won’t get mad or anything,” he was still in her arms, she could crush him if he wasn’t wearing her son’s body.</p><p>“I wished he wasn’t my father,” he peeked through his fingers trying to shield himself from anything negative reactions.</p><p>However, the only responses had been, “Why?” And a guilty expression on Wu.</p><p>“Uh, well, back home,” his arms were holding each other, “people aren’t kind to me all because I’m related to him. My mom struggles to keep the apartment because they don’t want to hire her, and I’m bullied all the time by everyone: kids, adults, my teachers, which are also adults. I don’t even look much like him at all- I know your Lloyd looks like you, but I barely looked like my father. I take after my mom too, I was almost human,” Lady Garmadon’s expression was unreadable with furrowed brows and a half-hollow look in her neon red eyes.</p><p>“J-just with fiery tears and pointy ears and sharp teeth; excluding all that, I was normal. I mean,” he scratched the back of his head, half-accepting a truth of his life, “My blood’s purple but, uh, I was <em>mostly</em> normal.”</p><p>“I don’t see why you would want to go back to that,” there was a forced gleeful fanged grin, “Being normal is boring, and you were bullied anyway!”</p><p>“Even if my dad made living normally hard, I still had my friends and uncle to help me through it.”</p><p>His small grateful smile drooped, “Here? <em>Man</em>, this Lloyd basically did nothing, has nothing, huh? He’s not a ninja, he doesn’t have friends, he has no memories of living the volcano; must be hard living like that. I wonder if that’s what would’ve happened to me if I had stayed with my dad.”</p><p>Lady Garmadon’s posture straightened, “I wanted to keep him safe. He looks so much like me,” she twirled a loose strand of blazing orange hair with a clawed finger, “They’d target him the second they knew he existed.”</p><p>Lloyd rubbed at the missing scar on his- <em>other-Lloyd’s</em> tail, “Yeah,” he couldn’t deny that, “There was this one time, when my mom still trusted people to babysit me when she was at work, someone had cut my tail off or had tried to. I’ve had a scar right here,” he showed her, holding the thin tail in his hands, “as long as I can remember, but your Lloyd doesn’t- an-and that’s probably why.” His parallel mother held a hand over her mouth. Why did he say that to her?</p><p>He stuttered as he tried to finish the thought, “An-and it’s not like I can-,” he swallowed anxiously, “I-I-I can get a blood transfusion if I’m bleeding out,” or any medical treatment for that matter, “So sh-she had to, you know, get one of those baby harnesses.” As far he knew, she hadn’t known Wu, but she did leave him to babysit Lloyd just before he could actually remember it. Wu was too infrequently in Ninjago to be someone she could rely on often.</p><p>“Oni clot very quickly,” she told him sagely, eyes blank.</p><p>His eyes darted away for a second, “But I wasn’t <em>that</em> Oni, my mom said I was like an eighth?” Or was it a quarter? It might’ve been a quarter. ((Lol.))</p><p>“That’s impossible, if I and your father are the same, then he should be three-fourths Oni like I am. Therefore, you should be around three-eighths Oni.”</p><p>“But- no, no, our universes must be different, this is just one of those discrepancies!” He laughed nervously waving his hands dismissively.</p><p>“It-it-it-<em>it</em> can’t be <em>that</em> much, my mom <em><span class="u">said</span>-!</em>” She wouldn’t lie to him about something like that.</p><p>Judging by his reaction, she could see why that version of herself would hide it. If that knowledge was public, they’d probably prosecute him like an Oni the instant he stepped out of line.</p><p>“It’s okay, Lloyd,” she tried to calm him down, “No need to be ashamed. There’s nothing wrong with being Oni, you aren’t the only hybrid, if that helps.”</p><p>“It doesn’t,” he sulked, his lower hands rubbed his thighs.</p><p>“There, there,” she patted his shoulder, ‘Humor him, Koko.’ She told herself with an internal wince. She didn’t want to instill false hope, but if that’s what’s needed to get the ball rolling, then so be it.</p><p>“Maybe you’re right, and this is a discrepancy; you won’t know until you get back.”</p><p>He brightened at that, “Yeah, we won’t know until I’m back in my body!”</p><p>She clapped non-laterally, “Well, that settles it,” She huffed, “We’re going home, and after that, Wu and I will have to <em>work</em> <em>together,” </em>she grimaced, “on this to get you back to your world.” She gestured to the aerial mech that was hovering in the air for it to land. It appeared to be a one-legged, cyclops umbrella, the pilot visible in the eye.</p><p>“Montgomery-san?”</p><p>“Hi,” he said through the speakers.</p><p>‘I want my son back, I’ll turn this realm inside out to get him.’</p><hr/><p>“Do you have a plan? <em>Anything</em> for us to work with?” His not-mom and not-dad sat next to him on Wu’s couch in the warehouse. Parallel Koko was the most invested in what was happening. Kabuto looked ready to sleep within the next available five minutes.</p><p>“Um,”</p><p>‘Just imagine if he was Garmadon,’ it was starting to click into place as he shifted to his ninja mindset.</p><p>“We got to lure him out, people don’t just say ‘I wish’ at random. We have to,” he scraped at his nails with his nails to even them out, “I don’t know, orchestrate a wishing event: like the shooting stars I saw.”</p><p>“Or just wait for 11:11,” not-Garmadon yawned with his mouth of eerily human teeth.</p><p>“Y-yeah. He’s a bad guy, so if we find him he’ll want to monologue. That’s the perfect time to for me to make my wish.”</p><p>“There’s another way to slow him down,” other-Koko stated, lowering her cup of tea from her mouth.</p><p>Her dark expression lifted, and she let out a cackle, “But that would require me sharing a weakness of my own with you ninja! It’s <em>probably</em> not necessary, but if it is, you’ll know about it then.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Jay blurted <strike>fittingly</strike> out of the blue, “but <em>why</em> should we help <em>you</em>? <em>You’re a Garmadon! </em>You could be lying about everything!”</p><p>Kai elbowed him, whispering, “Dude-,”</p><p>Koko’s nails spiked into claws as she pulled him by his orange scarf, “<em>If you value your life</em>,” she ran a finger from a free hand horizontally across her throat, “You <em><span class="u">will</span></em> help us!”</p><p>“Mis- <span class="u">Garmadon</span>,” Wu pried her hand from Jay, “<em>There is no need for that</em>. My students <em><span class="u">will help you</span> as best they can</em>.” The ninja let out a discordant sea of reluctant groans.</p><p>Except for Zane who chirped, “Ooh, I like helping!”</p><p>“It’s all we can do. An entity as powerful as a Djinn cannot be going around unchecked: a weapon can just as easily be used against you as it can be used for you. I should know, I’ve amassed loads of weapons: big weapons, little weapons, sharp weapons, stone weapons, even the Ultimate Weapon.”</p><p>“<em>Excuse me</em>,” Lady Garmadon hissed out.</p><p>“You are excused,” he replied with a wink.</p><p>“For how long have you had <em>that</em>?”</p><p>Wu shrugged his shoulders, “Long enough to prevent you from getting it first.”</p><p>Her nose became creased ready to growl, yet she looked away, “If we weren’t trying to get my baby back, I’d <em>clobber</em> you–,” she paused, thoughtful, “-<span class="u">More</span>.”</p><p>Wu dusted himself off, “We have no need for it today, it’s power is great but unknown. I took it from an Octan convoy thanks to a tip from an old friend of mine.”</p><p>“Psh, like you have friends.”</p><p>“I do, he joins me for tea.”</p><p>Having lost interest, she crossed her arms with a huff, “Whatever, let’s just focus on the task at hand.” She pulled up a city map on her phone, the most populated areas were already marked for <em>conquering purposes</em>.</p><p>“Whatever his angle is, he has to get cornered so Lloyd can go back to wherever he was before. If my troops go on patrol for him, it won’t do us any good due to his shapeshifting abilities. I’ll have to cycle between code words every hour,” she said as if the situation wasn’t new to her, “What we want is to both <em>find him</em> and <em>let Lloyd be in his hearing range</em>, so he can grant his wish.”</p><p>“We have to coax wishes out of people. People wish on pennies, don’t they?”</p><p>“What’s a penny?” Lloyd asked scratching his head. ((<em>Alternate universe~.</em>))</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, Son. Just know the city streets are about to be covered in them.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'll add to this later. Like with all things.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Leave a comment if you like it. Thanks for reading.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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